Therapeutic effect of acupuncture was scientifically proven in studies conducted over the past decades. On the other hand, after several decades of practice and experience, it became apparent that the new methods of acupuncture therapy and Chinese Acupuncture have a different mechanism of action. It is impossible to claim that a particular method can treat all diseases. However, each of the discussed above methods or their combination can be effective in treating certain disorders.
Chinese Acupuncture Methods
- Balance Acupuncture Method
This style is based on the principles of the I Ching or Book of Changes (Yi Jing). Dr. Chao Chen, a living legend in the Asian acupuncture community, is famous for developing an application of ancient acupuncture principles based on the I Ching, which is renowned for quick and immediate results. In this method, which is designed to balance the imbalances of the body, the needles are inserted away from the location of the disorder.
Balance Acupuncture provides a logical basis for accurately selecting the precise points that will give instant results. In this technique painful sites are not treated: the patient can move his joint and feel the relief within seconds. Meridian pathway and palpation diagnosis used in Balanced Acupuncture allow for discovering the very ancient and classical way for an accurate acupuncture diagnosis. The understanding of "why" and "how" traditional acupuncture points function is based on logic. Thus, in Balance Acupuncture, diagnosis and treatment are not empirical but can be explained.
This Acupuncture Method:
- is very effective for the management of several types of pain. In most cases a 50% reduction of symptoms is expected right away
- is very useful when needling the affected area is not recommended or the area is too sore
- Classical Five Element Acupuncture
The Five Elements (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth) are one of the basic concepts of Chinese medical theory, together with Qi, Yin and Yang. Some acupuncture styles use the Five Elements concept as their principal basis for diagnosis and treatment, and focus on restoring balance in the Elements that are out of sync.
Five Element Acupuncture was promoted in the late 1960s and 1970s by J.R.Worsley (1923-2003), an
Englishman who studied Chinese medicine from teachers in Asia and in the
West. This method of Chinese Acupuncture is practiced by many practitioners in the UK and the USA.
This acupuncture method:
- is especially good for mental/emotional conditions
- focuses on treating the root of the patients problems and considers the symptoms
as "alarm bells" of distress
- is best for treating chronic conditions, especially if resulting from the emotions or
constitutional predispositions
- can help to improve the internal feeling
- is useful for patients requiring a gentle, minimal intervention
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a style of acupuncture developed
in the People’s Republic of China after 1949. TCM attempted to
systematize all the different acupuncture styles existing at that time.
It offers a pragmatic and structured approach to treating illness. This
is the most commonly practiced style of acupuncture in China and around
the world.
This acupuncture method:
- is good for treating both chronic and acute conditions
- focuses both on symptoms and on the root of the illness
New Acupuncture Methods
During the past 50 years, Traditional Chinese Acupuncture has been supplemented by new
methods of acupuncture. These methods are based on particular fields comprising
specific points of correspondence within
circumscribed parts
of the body, for example, the ear, the scalp, etc. Each of the points
in these methods has a clearly defined correlation to, and
interrelation with, a particular organ or function. Thus, the new
methods of
acupuncture are a very effective treatment established for
diagnosis as well.
The following are brief details on the 3
new methods of Acupuncture, which are
most popular in the world, and with which I
work
often, in addition to the Chinese Acupuncture.
- Auriculotherapy
The first method to be discovered in the early 1950’s is called
Auricular (ear) Acupuncture or Auriculotherapy.
It
is a
system of specific points on the ear. A French physician Dr. Paul
Nogier, who decoded the functional correspondences of the respective ear
points is a founder of this method. Even though the specific points
are densely packed it
is a very detailed method. Auricular Acupuncture is based on
the resemblance of ear with an upside-down embryo.
Auriculotherapy was continuously refined by Dr. Nogier himself as well
as
by the German and Chinese schools of Acupuncture. Nowadays, Auriculotherapy is acknowledged and has gained acceptance worldwide,
owing to its therapeutic and diagnostic qualities.
- Yamamoto’s New Scalp Acupuncture
Along with auriculotherapy,
Yamamoto’s New Scalp Acupuncture (YNSA)
has become a very popular method of Acupuncture. In the 1970’s
a Japanese physician Dr. Toshikatsu Yamamoto discovered various specific zones on
the scalp. In YNSA, the specific “basic” zones represent functions of the locomotor
system and of the sense organs.
Dr.
Yamamoto has continued to develop and complement his method of Acupuncture and described new therapeutic points and zones.
Yamamoto's
New Scalp Acupuncture is well proven in the treatment of
various types of pain and locomotor disorders (i.e. paralysis) caused by diseases
such as stroke.
- Korean Hand Acupuncture
Korean hand acupuncture (KHA) has been become another popular therapy in some countries.
- And more...
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